USDA to put $1 billion into climate-smart pilot projects
The USDA will spend $1 billion on climate-smart pilot projects, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Monday, delivering on a pledge made last September to help farmers develop a market for sustainably produced commodities. The demonstration projects could change the shape of U.S. farm policy, but the clock already is ticking toward the 2023 farm bill and funding for climate mitigation is not certain.
As pandemic persists, coalition urges Congress to continue school food waivers
Congress should allow an additional year of federal waivers that make all children eligible for free meals at public schools, said nearly 2,000 anti-hunger, medical, religious and farm groups on Monday. The waivers are scheduled to expire on June 30 but the pandemic is far from over, said the groups in a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees.
What should Arizona farmers grow? A tire company hopes it’s guayule.
The compound was nothing like the farms of fluffy cotton and bright green alfalfa I was used to seeing in central Arizona. Out back, rows of ragged shrubs grew at varying heights. This was guayule (pronounced why-oo-lee), a plant native to Southwestern deserts that happens to produce latex. From this unassuming outpost, Bridgestone was trying to establish the country’s sole domestic source for the kind of high-grade natural rubber used in airplane tires and surgical gloves — and they were doing it with a crop accustomed to drought.
Today’s Quick Hits
Demand China purchases: China must take “concrete action” to fulfill its unmet promises to buy vast amounts of U.S. goods and services, including farm exports, under the “phase one” trade agreement, said U.S. officials. (Reuters)
Organic standards hearing: After years of prodding, the USDA will hold a listening session on its standards development activities for the National Organic Program, including recommendations from its advisory National Organic Standards Board. (OTA)
Cattle inventory down: The U.S. cattle industry is in a contractionary cycle, with 2-percent fewer head than a year ago, indicating stronger prices ahead for slaughter cattle and a decline in the beef supply at grocery stores. (farmdoc daily)
Growers try automation: Two-thirds of produce growers have invested in automation in the past three years on everything from weeding and thinning to harvesting platforms and autonomous vehicles, said a first-of-its-kind study. (Western Growers)
Grain supply tightens: The stocks-to-use ratios for corn, wheat and soybeans worldwide continue a downward trend that began a couple of years ago, pointing to a tighter supply for the commodities. (Agricultural Economic Insights)
